March 12, 2017 - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 For the message of
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: "I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom
of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the
foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews
request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ
crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but
to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the
weakness of God is stronger than men.

Avid coffee drinkers in the Pacific
Northwest know how important a filter is. Before I moved out here I never
really thought there was much of a difference in how coffee was brewed. What a novice
mistake right? The choice and quality of filter is right up there in importance
with bean selection, roast type, and freshness of the grind. Some filters are
simple, like the light paper kind used in brewing mass quantities of coffee.
Others are more specialized, like the tiny re-usable pod for Keurig brewing
machines. Still others, used in commercial machines are even more complex. Not
only does a filter determine quality, different types are also not
interchangeable. You can’t fit a big paper filter in a tiny Keurig machine.
Each brew system has its own particular filter.

The same principle is truth when it comes
to a person’s worldview. A worldview is a sort of filter through which you
distill the events that happen in the world. This filter shapes the things you
believe, the choices you make, and the values you hold. Like coffee filters,
not all worldviews are the same, nor are they interchangeable. And, perhaps most
important of all, there are different qualities of worldviews.

The text before us outlines the simple
distinction in worldviews and how they ultimately determine what a person
believes about God. We can certainly share differing opinions about things like
coffee, but the truth about God is not based on opinion.

When it comes to human nature, everyone
ultimately falls into one of two worldviews. Paul makes this distinction
between Jew and Greek. Jews look for a sign. Greeks seek after wisdom. Now, Paul
uses the terms Jew and Greek to speak to his direct audience in their cultural
setting. These titles do not mean that only Jews and Greeks ethnically hold to
these worldviews. One may be a Gentile and have the same frame of mind that
Jewish people in Paul’s time did. No matter what one’s race, upbringing, or
gender is, the two basic worldviews of life come down to wisdom
and power.

Part 1: Some want
wisdom but get foolishness

Paul directed the wisdom-dominated
worldview at the Greeks because it’s what they were known for. The Greeks
ushered in Western-minded philosophy which sought to find true wisdom. Great
thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle come to mind. Historians like:
Herodotus and Thucydides are also of note, as are the influential poets like
Homer and Sophocles. All of these individuals, though they pursued different
forms of the arts, sought after wisdom.

It’s also noteworthy that this was the
very culture into which the New Testament Church was born. Many times in the
book of Acts we are told that Paul “reasoned” with Greeks over the Scriptures,
such as we’re told about his time in Athens, Then Paul, as his custom was,
went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures
(Acts 17:2).

The kind of reasoning that Paul engaged
in involved disputing and arguing between two different worldviews. What
exactly were those two worldviews? One was the wisdom of the world, based on
personal evidence. We might think of the saying, “Show me and I’ll believe.”
The other worldview was the message of the cross. Listen to what Luke records
about Paul’s time in Athens. Immediately after stating that Paul began
reasoning with them, he says this, explaining and demonstrating that the
Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus
whom I preach to you is the Christ."

To the Greeks, the gods were slightly
better than humans but certainly willing to stoop to human levels of morality
and retribution. A portrait of the sinless Son of God, condemned to the cross
and raised in glory stood in stark contrast. Yet, the message of the cross is
not based on human wisdom or discernment. According to Paul’s description here
in our text, the cross is the last thing the world would imagine to be true,
and it is received by faith, not experience. And so the natural Greek mind
counts the gospel as foolishness.

Is this not what we continue to see in
the world? Today, the Greek philosophical style is emulated in our culture too,
in fact our culture is built upon it. Truly, when it comes to the natural
world, observation of the physical is how we grow in our wisdom. But,
because that is true, many assume that the physical is all there is, that there
is nothing spiritual. And so the cross of Jesus, a purely spiritual blessing,
is discounted as nonsense. When the blessings of forgiveness in Christ are
counted as foolishness, the only remaining hope is in material things. And so, societies’
attention is shifted to the environment, to personal rights, to quality of life
here on this earth. These things become the Greek philosopher’s highest
morality.

Even at Paul’s time there was a specific
school of philosophy known as the Epicurean style. Their motto was, “Eat,
drink, and be merry.” If the here and now is all there is, then get what you
can while you can. It’s not hard to see how philosophies like these, based
entirely on the material and physical, have become a breeding ground for greed,
coveting, materialism, self-indulgence, and the much more in our culture.

A message of the cross, which tells the
sinner to repent, the believer to trust, and describes a Kingdom not about
eating and drinking but rather righteousness, peace, and joy will certainly be
counted as foolishness in such a worldview. But that’s exactly how God would
have it be. He does not want the work of His Son to look like the things of the
sinful world. He wants it to stand out as it certainly does. He wants the cross
to be highlighted by contrast to anything else that exists in the world.
Sometimes, that leads people to call it “foolish” but at the end of the day the
cross stands on its own and it always there for people to see.

How clear is the vision of Christ’s cross
in your life? How strong is your trust in it? Would you claim it as your
worldview, or have you fallen prey to thinking that human knowledge and wisdom
are the cure to societies’ problems? Does true morality come from a Savior’s
love and devotion, as He died alone without your help? Or must morality be
driven out by progressive ideas and agendas and by finding new ways to attack
the same problems that afflict our world? All of the sudden, if you’re being
honest, it’s pretty easy to see how the Greek worldview has entered the
Christian faith. It can exist there for some time, side by side with the gospel
cross. But, in truth, only one can truly be trusted and relied upon for help.
Some to whom Paul ministered to gave up the fight for the cross, and counted
Jesus as too foolish. He continues to encourage you to trust in Christ alone.

Part 2: Some want
power but get weakness

The other predominant philosophical
worldview at Paul’s time was the Jewish emphasis on power. We might at first
think that the Jews focused entirely on the Old Testament Scriptures and were
therefore concerned with the Messiah’s cross. However, the very ministry of
that Messiah, Jesus, spelled out clearly that this was not the case with most
the Jews. They had been led down the wrong path in seeking not the kingdom of
God by grace, but an earthly kingdom of power and autonomy from the Romans.
Paul states that the medium through which this power was desired was signs –
think miracles. In contrast to the Greek tendency of denying the supernatural,
the Jews freely embraced it. Their history was one with many supernatural
events through which God interacted with signs and miracles. But, the purpose
of these signs was to confirm and establish the fulfillment of covenant through
Jesus, not to set up an earthly kingdom.

For those caught in this worldview of
power, Paul says they will receive weakness instead. How ironic that just like
the Greeks, those Jews who denied the Savior would actually receive the very
thing they were trying to avoid. Don’t we see this at the actual cross of all
places? The doubters cry to the Christ: Come down from the cross and we will
believe! Essentially, show Your power, give us a sign and we will follow You. A
dying and suffering Savior, pinned to the tree of punishment by nails, was
simply too weak for them to trust. Yet, the very moment that Jesus would have
come down from the cross, all would have been lost.

All unbelief is real foolishness and
weakness. Imagine what must have been going through Christ’s mind, as He hears the
mocks and taunts, and as the crowd cries for the very thing that would spell
eternal disaster for them. What more could be said than, “Father, forgive
them for they know not what they do.”

The Jewish desire for power may not be as
predominant in our culture as the Greek pursuit of wisdom, but it still affects
us today, and especially the church. How many Christians do we hear of that
claim to have received some divine message or sign from God? Instead of humbly
and quietly following the simple word of God, they attract huge followings by
proclaiming some sort of a sign. In a way, it’s not so different from the
Greeks; both methods are asking for more than God’s word of grace as a reason
to believe in Jesus.

This worldview of power also reels its
ugly head when it comes to displaying faith. Too much is made of what must be
shown to establish true faith. We hear questions like, “do you have faith or
saving faith?” “Are you a Christian or a born again Christian?” It’s all a
matter of what you show in your life – signs. But, since when did the Holy
Spirit sanctify sinners by such methods. We confess, “I cannot by my own
reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, nor come to Him. But the
Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with HIs gifts,
sanctified, and kept me in true faith.”

Yet, even power and the attraction for
signs can be present under the protection of faith. This is not only a problem
that Jewish-minded people of the world have, we Christians struggle with it
too. Have you ever pushed against God’s Word because you just felt you knew
better? Have you ever put more stock in your own experiences rather than God’s
promises? How many times have we all invested more effort, care, and energy in
pursuing the things of this world and not the things of God? All of it, is vain
chasing after power.

In the end, we may judge truth from
different worldviews, or filters, but they all eventually come down to wisdom
or power. Either the basis of truth is something intellectual or something
tangible. And so, we remind ourselves again that whether we are actually Greek
or Jewish is not the distinction, but whether we are wisdom-dominated or power-dominated.
All nationalities are included.

Yet, here is the very change through
Christ. His death on the cross marks the perfect intersection between wisdom
and power. It seems the opposite to the eyes of unbelief but God Himself has
ordained it to be so. This should lead us to think for our lives. If I see
myself trusting in human wisdom to solve life’s problems or if I see myself
pursuing power and influence here on earth, have I set up an idol that gets in
the way of truth? The world will tell us what it wants. God will too, and He
warns us to be on the guard against what may appear right, but in reality is
completely opposed to His will. This is the battle of worldviews and not all
are created equal, nor do all deliver the same blessings or curses.

So, where is the opponent of the cross?
The wise, the scribe, the disputer; Paul covers all – thinker, writer, and
doer. The answer is that there is none. Sure, many try, but never does any
opponent of Jesus measure up to a threat is even worthy to be counted. We would
do well to pay attention for our lives. Perhaps we are not as wise and powerful
as we so often think.

The true hope of wisdom and power is
found in Christ. Vv. 18 and 24 summarize nicely, v. 18: the message of the
cross is power to those who believe. V. 24: Christ, the power of God and wisdom
of God. There it is clear as day, preached time and time again by faithful
Christians. To have Christ is to have true power and wisdom. To have Christ is
to have His cross. It may not seem like much on the surface. Truly, we have
heard it many times before and the world certainly isn’t advertising it well.
But, which one of us could honestly say we don’t inwardly feel the truth of our
final verse: the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of
God is stronger than men. We know this to be true because God has created
us to know it. But, we trust it with full confidence of faith because the Holy
Spirit has fixed our hearts and minds on Jesus. And perhaps that’s really the
simplicity of it all. Wisdom and Power – different worldviews – knowing and
trusting.

May God continue to equip, strengthen,
and encourage us in the battle of the truth – keeping our worldview on the
cross of Jesus above all others. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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Pastor Mark Tiefel

Pastor Mark S. Tiefel graduated from Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary in Eau Claire, WI, in May of 2012. He previously served Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church. He was installed at Redemption on April 12, 2015.